Morphology and Composition of the Surface of Mars: Mars Odyssey THEMIS Results
Abstract
The Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) on Mars Odyssey has produced infrared to visible wavelength images of the martian surface that show lithologically distinct layers with variable thickness, implying temporal changes in the processes or environments during or after their formation. Kilometer-scale exposures of bedrockare observed; elsewhere airfall dust completely mantles the surface over thousands of square kilometers. Mars has compositional variations at 100-meter scales, for example, an exposure of olivine-rich basalt in the walls of Ganges Chasma. Thermally distinct ejecta facies occur around some craters with variations associated with crater age. Polar observations have identified temporal patches of water frost in the north polar cap. No thermal signatures associated with endogenic heat sources have been identified.
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We would like to sincerely thank all those at Raytheon Santa Barbara Remote Sensing who built the THEMIS instrument, and those at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Lockheed Martin Astronautics, and Arizona State University, who built and operate the Odyssey spacecraft. This work was supported by the NASA Mars Odyssey Flight Project.
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Science
Volume 300 | Issue 5628
27 June 2003
27 June 2003
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American Association for the Advancement of Science.
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Received: 26 November 2002
Accepted: 14 May 2003
Published in print: 27 June 2003
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